He played for the Anaheim Ducks in 2003, when they lost to the New Jersey Devils in Game 7.

The Pittsburgh Penguins' 2-1 win against the Detroit Red Wings in Game 7 on Friday night more than fills that championship void.

"I haven't won something other than my son in knee hockey in the basement," Bylsma said at the postgame news conference while seated next to his 10-year-old son, Bryan. " I haven't won a lot of things since I was in high school.

"It elevates your career to a different level. It's a lot of dreaming and a lot of hard work and a lot of determination. When you lift that Cup, that trophy, the Stanley Cup champion will go by your game forever."

It is hard for the Grand Haven native to believe the twists and turns this season took.

At the start of the season, Bylsma was in his first year as head coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. But on Feb. 15, Pittsburgh fired Michel Therrien with the team five points out of a playoff spot.

Bylsma was promoted and led the Penguins to a 18-3-4 record in the final 25 games of the regular season and the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.

Now, he is the 14th rookie coach to win a Stanley Cup. He is only the second, along with Montreal's Al MacNeil in 1971, to do it after taking over midseason.

"Life's a bugger," Bylsma said, laughing. "You know, I had plans about this. I had dreams about this. I hoped this would happen some day.

"But good coaches have coached a long time and never gotten an opportunity like this. A lot of times your first opportunity doesn't come with a team that's this talented or this group of players. I'm very fortunate in that regard."

While he knew he had a talented team led by young stars such as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Marc-Andre Fleury, Bylsma did not expect to lead Pittsburgh to its third NHL championship.

"Did we have enough time to do it? That was the question mark in my brain. I didn't really try to think about that too much," Bylsma said. "It was just about getting to play certain ways and winning the games.

"But it's really fortunate how life changes in such a short period of time."

Bylsma, who is one of only four coaches with at least 40 points in their first 25 NHL games, made quick believers out of the team when he took over. The Penguins removed the interim tag from his title April 28.

"At the time, when they made the switch, things weren't going so well for us. Our confidence wasn't there even though we had a good set of young, core players, and it just wasn't there," Pittsburgh defenseman Rob Scuderi said. "Sometimes, when you bring in a different philosophy, it just helps. And I thought it was pretty good from Day 1."

According to winger Chris Minard, who spent time with both Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Bylsma made sure he did not forget the team he started the season with.

"He's been talking to everybody," Minard said. "Even with us, keeping us motivated and keeping us mentally ready."